And the next chapter is here… Feel free to drop a line…

Much thanks to all those who reviewed! You're all so positive, and it makes me feel so much better about this fic! :) Thanks to Danielle, Dagron, DragonSlayerMogget, FoxyFire, and snow blossoms! You all rock! And I hope you enjoy this next chapter…

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Chapter 5: You

Sunlight filtered through the window, falling across Gaddes' stubbly chin. Grimacing to himself, he rolled over, pressing his face into the pillow stubbornly. A slight weight on the side of his bed made him lift his head from the pillow and turn to see what the disturbance was.

An angel…

He blinked, frowning. No, it was just Celena…

"'Morning."
The sweet voice was enough to keep his morning gruffness at bay, but the smile on her face – as if she found something immensely amusing – was what kept him from feeling cheerful about being awakened.

"Yeah?" He sat up, rubbing his face tiredly. When would he stop having these ridiculous 'angel' visions? It wasn't healthy for him at all, he was sure of it.

She raised her eyebrows slightly, her smile turning speculative.

"No, I did not have a good night's sleep," Gaddes said, belatedly trying to flatten his hair into a halfway normal look, assuming that was the reason she looked so amused. Now his dreams seemed hazy and distant… but he knew something about them had been extremely unsettling, and he knew Celena had been in them. Damn her. He shoved the covers away, feeling slightly reproachful about his attitude, because he knew it wasn't her fault.

A faint blush colored her pale cheeks for a moment before she looked hastily away from his bare chest.

His mood lightened considerably. "Sorry, honey, but you are kinda wearing my shirt at the moment."

She practically threw it at him as she stood from his bed, walking a safe distance away from him.

"What, you think I bite?" He gave her a shark-like smile.

Turning to him, she rolled her eyes sarcastically and crossed her arms. Raising just one of her eyebrows this time, she threw another questioning look at him.

"Marabelle is giving you some clothes," Gaddes stated, shrugging into the pink shirt, glancing for another moment at her expression. "And I doubt you'll be getting any pants with the bargain. You should be happy you're getting something."

Lifting her shoulders in an 'I'll deal' pose, she bent over to slip on her shoes while Gaddes finished buttoning his shirt.

"Let me get the clothes for you," he volunteered gallantly.

The corner of her mouth tipping slightly, she nodded as if agreeing with his idea as he left the room.

Returning with an armful of clothes and a bag to put them in, he dumped them unceremoniously on her bed and said, "Take your pick, milady. I'll be eating breakfast to give you some privacy." He smiled rakishly at her. "Pick something nice."

She shook her head long-sufferingly, and her eyes smiled up at him from under her lashes. Finding himself a little too affected by her innocent looks, he left the room before he did something that he knew he would regret.

Marabelle sat a cup of coffee before him with a cheerful smile. "Does your sister like the clothes?"

Gaddes shrugged. "I guess. I let her have some time to pick something out by herself."

"Oh, well, that's sweet of you," she commented, moving toward the kitchen. "I'll have both of your breakfasts out in just a little bit."

"Thanks."

He sipped the hot coffee gingerly, thinking through the tenuous plans in his mind. With Celena in different clothes, they could possibly go along the main road… walking, until maybe they found some other mode of transportation. One that preferably wasn't public.

This damn planning was not something he wanted to do at all. He wasn't suited for any of this. Why in Gaea was he the one escorting Celena?

Gaddes grimaced. The coffee was strong. What are they trying to do with this stuff, wake the dead?

A movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention, and he turned to see what it was. Celena. He blinked.

How did I know that this would happen… again?

She was wearing a dress similar to the blue one, only this one had a neckline that dipped lower… it had to dip lower… or else Gaddes was simply noticing things he hadn't noticed before. But he thought he'd been pretty observant the first time. It was green, too, which made her eyes look an entirely different shade… and that made her all the more mysterious and… interesting… She probably picked it on purpose, too, the wily female…

"Looks nice," he said easily, the corner of his mouth tipping slightly. Hopefully she wouldn't be able to read any of his extraneous thoughts through his eyes.

Her cheeks flushed ever so faintly as she came over to sit with him. "Thanks," she said quietly. She sat at the table, and refused Gaddes' offer of coffee, avoiding his eyes.

Good. She won't see my insanity.

Marabelle brought their breakfast before anything else awkward could happen, and Gaddes dug in with gusto. "So, you slept well?"

She shrugged noncommittally.

"You looked like you were sleeping pretty soundly when I came in."

She gave him an odd expression.

"Well, not like I was watching you all night," he muttered. "I couldn't help but notice you in the other bed when I walked in."

Poking at her food with her fork, she lowered her gaze again.

He looked skeptically at her, noticing the lack of natural color in her cheeks. "Are you alright?"

Celena nodded slightly, bringing a small forkful to her mouth.

A dark eyebrow rose. "You sure?"

"Yes," she said in an insistent tone.

"Alright, fine, forgive me for wondering." Turning his attention back to his meal, he said, "You've got the other clothes packed, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." He polished off the plate, and took another sip of the coffee as he sat back. His dark eyes watched Celena, merely because there was nothing else to watch.

Glancing up after apparently sensing his gaze, she frowned slightly.

"Sorry, didn't mean to stare," he said apologetically. "But I can't say it was a trial," he added with a cocky grin.

She rolled her eyes at him, and ate one more bite before pushing the plate away.

"You're done?"

A nod.

Gaddes looked at her half-full plate. "Are you sure? You didn't eat much."

"I'm not hungry."

Seeing that she was not one to argue with right now, he just accepted her reply. "Alright then. You're a big girl, I ain't about to feed you."

Her lips curving slightly, she hunched her shoulders and leaned forward, looking out the window.

He gulped at what his very male eyes were drawn to. She was, indeed, a 'big girl' now… And it was worse, because he knew she wasn't even aware of what she was doing. "Um… could you… sit up?"

Her greenish-blue eyes were very clear. Why?

"Just…" His eyes darted away from her. "For me… could you just sit up?"

Still obviously confused, but not wanting to cause a disturbance, she obligingly straightened her shoulders and rested against the back of her chair.

Letting out a breath, he said, "Thanks," in a very relieved voice. As if he needed things to be made even more difficult for him.

She blinked. Whatever.

Marabelle came back to the table, smiling cheerily. "You two want anything else? More coffee, anything?"

"No, thanks Marabelle. It was wonderful." Gaddes smiled, feeling the tightness in his gut begin to dissipate with the older woman's presence.

"Yes, thank you," Celena said sweetly.

Marabelle took their plates, and said, "Well, if you two ever need to stay somewhere again and you're nearby, be sure to come back!"

"Will do," he replied.

He looked to his charge. "Well? You ready?"

Nodding faintly, she stood from the chair and pulled the bag onto her shoulder.

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Reimann and Marabelle waved farewell to their guests as they disappeared past the bend in the road.

"Well, they were very nice," Marabelle commented. "Though it's strange that they were traveling now… But I suppose they have a good reason. It's not required that one travel on common travel days, now is it? And besides, it's not like this road is the most populated road, so who knows? More people may be about than we know."

"There was something about them," Reimann said gruffly, obviously a man of few words.

"What do you mean?"

"Something was off."

She put her hands on her hips. "Well, I have no idea what you are talking about. They were both sweet, and very kind…"

"But they didn't seem like brother and sister to me."

Her matronly pretty face frowned slightly. "Why not?"

"Did you see the way he looked at her?" Reimann looked back to the road thoughtfully. "I'd never look at a sister of mine that way…"

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Gaddes looked dubiously up at the darkening sky. So far, since they'd left the inn, they'd not come upon another building along the road.

Which is both good and bad. Good, because less chance of a crazy person to decide to take vengeance on Celena. Bad, by the looks of those clouds…

He glanced down at her. She didn't seem as bright or cheerful as she usually was. Of course, she refrained from speaking. But what else was new?

"Are you feeling alright?"

She nodded, just the same way she had nodded the other five times he'd asked her the same question.

He breathed in deep, smelling Celena's scent on his shirt collar from the night before. It was like a clear, sparkling mountain river; pure and clean… or something fanciful and ridiculous like that.

"The weather doesn't look that good."

She glanced up at him, a 'no, duh' expression on her face.

Maybe it was smelling her everywhere he went in the shirt, maybe it was just the conversational solitude that was wearing down on him, but suddenly he couldn't hold back. "Listen, Celena, I'm just trying to make conversation, alright? I don't know how you can take the silence for so long, but I can't, so will you please stop playing like you're mute and talk back? For my sake?"

Her forehead creased in a slight frown. "I didn't know it bothered you that much."

"Neither did I, honey, but I'm feeling it now."

The frown mellowed into something more resembling contemplation. "I just don't really like talking all that much, I told you that already."

"But why? What's so wrong with talking?"

She paused. "I have a lot of things to think about."

"Then think out loud, damn it! I'd be happy if you said anything at all, even if it were totally incoherent."

For some reason, she smiled.

He was the one sporting the frown now. "What's so funny?"

His almost-glare did nothing to quell her infectious grin. "You."

Even though he rolled his eyes and huffed out a gruff breath – Maybe her staying silent is better after all… – he couldn't help but notice that her smile did nothing for her coloring. She looked incredibly pale, even for her.

An ominous rumble in the distance made his mood lower even more. Maybe, if we walk fast enough, we can reach some sort of shelter before it gets really bad. No way we can avoid it. The only question now is when the rain will-

He winced at the feeling of something ice cold running down his neck.

Hit.

Lightening split the sky in two, eerily making no sound. Celena looked questioningly up at Gaddes.

"Heat lightening," he explained. "Haven't you seen it before?"

Before she could answer, another lightening bolt struck and sent a loud 'boom' rolling over the hills.

"Shoot…" He squinted, trying to see ahead through the intensifying sheets of rain. Nothing.

He leaned down close to Celena's ear so she could hear him. "There's nowhere to take shelter from this rain, and I'm sure as hell not about to go under a tree. I may not be the brightest person, but I know that ain't safe in a thunderstorm. We just have to keep walking in the rain, and if we don't take the other clothes out of the packs, they should stay pretty much dry for later."

He heard a faint "okay" and kept walking, holding her close to him so that she wouldn't slip and fall. The last thing he needed was for her to become incapacitated.

Gaddes felt rivulets of water cascading off of his nose, and the sensation was pretty unpleasant. Water was sliding down the back of his shirt, too, which was even worse. But complaining would do no good… no chance anyone, even Celena, would hear him all that clearly in the din of the thunder and rain. Then again, that was a good reason to complain now. Of course, why waste his breath?

He was distracted by Celena's slender form pressing against his body. For a moment, he forgot he was cold… they could've been in blinding snow, and he wouldn't have noticed a thing apart from her. She was shivering… but then, so was he. His warmer thoughts were instantly dashed by the remembrance that this was Allen's little sister. He frowned to himself. This really needed to stop.

After what felt like days trapped in an ice cube – which was really just two hours in rather cold rain – the sky cleared somewhat and the rain fell in a faint drizzle, the lightening and thunder having gone away with the darkness.

"I just have to say," Gaddes spoke for the first time in a while, "That I am absolutely amazed we have found nothing on this blasted road for the past two hours."

Celena nodded marginally.

"I mean, good Lord, how long is this damn road 'til you hit some sort of civilization?"

She didn't respond. Not that he expected her to.

He shook his head, trying to loosen the water that plastered his hair to his head. Ruffling it with his hand, he realized he was still holding Celena close, and eased away slightly.

"I don't think you really need my protection from the rain anymore, sweetheart," he said easily, knowing that he was relinquishing the contact more for his own good than for hers.

She looked up at him, her bluish-green eyes looking so much bigger with the way her fair hair had been flattened by the moisture. "Gaddes…" she began timidly, biting her lip.

He didn't let her finish. "My God, Celena… you're as white as a ghost!"
The stubborn girl turned away abruptly. "No… I'm fine…"

"Like hell you are. I'm not an idiot, Celena. You've probably got pneumonia now."

She wrinkled her nose. "No, I don't."

"Well, you will soon." He mentally berated himself soundly for somehow skimming over the signs. He was an idiot, for not seeing that she wasn't feeling well earlier. "Get over here, under the willow tree. It's not as wet."

"But I thought you said-"

"Does it look like there's a thundercloud in the sky? Get over here." She complied silently, and he opened her bag brusquely. "Change into something dry."

Without waiting for an answer, he strode away into the open, giving her some privacy within the curtains of the leaves. Pulling of his soaked shirt, he tried his best to wring most of the water from it. "You done?"

"Yes."

Neglecting to put his shirt back on, he strode back under the tree to find Celena in a black dress. He rolled his eyes. "Nice choice of color."

"Well, I thought it would be warmer," she said defiantly, her voice still weak.

He couldn't stop a small lopsided grin from his face with that. "I'm sure anything will be warmer than that wet blanket you had on."

She looked away from him, sitting Indian-style on the ground with her arms around herself.

"Alright, I'm not a doctor, but I figure if you just get some fluids, food, and rest, you'll probably be fine. I doubt you're seriously sick. But you aren't walking any farther today."

Silently acquiescing to his proclamation, she murmured, "I hate being weak…"

He felt himself softening to her. "We all are at some time," he said, wadding up one her dry dresses for a pillow and gently pushing her into a prone position on the ground. He covered her with the blanket that had somehow stayed mostly dry. Gently, he brushed her damp hair away from her burning forehead. "But you know, Celena," he said quietly as her eyes closed in exhaustion, "you're one of the strongest women I've ever known."

He suspected she'd fallen asleep before she'd heard everything he said, which was probably for the better, even though he spoke the truth. After all, she had lived a life as Dilandau, a bloodthirsty pyromaniac who had destroyed thousands of people's lives… Having to exist with that knowledge on your conscience had to be hard. But aside from her silence, she acted as if a normal life had to go on, and he knew that deep down inside he commended her for that.

Plus, she had some pretty slick moves for a female when it came to fighting, if you judged by the quick punch she had landed to his stomach that one time.

So why did he keep pushing himself away from her?

His eyes traced the slender lines of her face, having all the time in the world to do so. He was attracted; a man would have to be a complete moron not to have figured that one out. So what was keeping him from… well, from anything?

His brow lowered in thought, as the leaves rustled gently above him.

Then, his face cleared.

There was no way this could ever be a fling.

He was sure that was it. Though she wasn't 'innocent' in the naïve sense, she was definitely too young to be used to casual nights here and there. And besides, Allen's sister would never be a fling for Allen's second-in-command and best friend. Despite his earlier reassurance that he wanted something long-term, he found himself backing hastily away from any thoughts that hinted toward something serious. With her? Celena? The former-Dilandau? Allen's precious sister?

Someone up there must be laughing pretty damn hard at the stunt they're pulling down here.

He and Celena wouldn't fit, no matter how beautiful she was to him. Too many things stood in the way, not the least of which was Allen himself. He wanted Celena to become a 'lady'. What kind of lady would marry a scruffy captain like himself?

Marry?!

Blinking, he looked away from her, trying to gather his thoughts. Maybe he was catching something, too. It could be just temporary insanity, right?

She groaned, and Gaddes returned to reality with a start. "You okay?"

"Yes, Gaddes," she mumbled irritably, his name still sounding like music in her voice.

He tucked the shirt more firmly around her shoulders, and she sleepily scowled. "As if I wasn't already feeling enough like a child…"

She drifted off to sleep again, just as soundly as before. Maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't notice his foolishness over her… and maybe, once he returned her safely to her brother, this bizarreness within him would fade away. But again his eyes were captured by her face and his ears by her sweet voice that still resounded in his mind. He couldn't seem to resist it. On impulse, he bent down and dropped a lingering butterfly kiss on her endearingly pursed lips, cynically half-smiling to himself.

"It would seem, little one, that I am captivated by anything from your mouth."

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So there it is. Next chapter… no idea… since school is starting up… and who knows how much time/inspiration I'll have left to write? But I will try, trust me…

'Til the next chapter…

-wink